Vendetta: The Story of Midbus
by Rhah the Last Warlord
Summary: After being locked in prison for ten months, Midbus escapes…and he feels himself unraveling. Fragmented memories, strange new powers, powerful desires for violence…all of these things culminate in Midbus finding the answer to some simple, yet complicated questions: where did I come from…and where am I going?
1. I: The Starting Line

"_A body racked with pain will exact Revenge to disguise the wounds infected by Confusion." –Rhah the Last Warlord_

**_Vendetta: The Story of_ _Midbus_** by_ Rhah the Last Warlord_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Midbus or a vast majority of characters that appear in this story. I wish I did, 'cause then I'd be rich…but I don't.

**Plot:** After being locked in prison for ten months, Midbus escapes…and he feels himself unraveling. Fragmented memories, strange new powers, powerful desires for violence…all of these things culminate in Midbus finding the answer to some simple, yet complicated questions: where did I come from…and where am I going?

**Notes:** Well, I noticed that there weren't any stories focusing on this awesome character from Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (well, not that I could see), so I decided I'd do one. Now, this story has some pretty **dark** overtones like most of my stories. It also has a heavy amount of **violence**. And of course, **this story contains minor spoilers for the aforementioned game, so if you haven't finished it or you plan on playing it, think about that before you read this story.** With that, enjoy.

**Part I: Lusting for Power; Chapter I: The Starting Line**

Ten months had passed in the Mushroom Kingdom after the Dark Star was seen to have destroyed itself. Fawful, the mad scientist who wanted to destroy the Kingdom with the Star, was nowhere to be found; he was presumed to be dead. Both Bowser's and Peach's castles had been repaired of damage that had been done and they both had agreed to a momentary truce until the Kingdom had settled down from the trouble caused by the blorbs and the Dark Star. Those ten months proved to be the time that the Kingdom needed seeing as everything was mostly returned to normal life. However, there was still one offshoot from Fawful's failed plans that still remained in the Kingdom…that offshoot was rotting in the deepest cell of the rarely used dungeon in Peach's castle.

He was a giant warthog (though also commonly referred to as a warthog/armadillo crossbreed) who was generally magenta colored all across his body, except for his belly area which was more of a pink color. His nose was pink and his muzzle was peach colored from which pearl white tusks protruded from. He had a shell-like coating over his entire back area that was a gold color and he also wore large braces on his wrists that were made of obsidian, a black crystal, and had silver rounded studs around their diameter. He had huge hands and muscles that spoke to his immense strength; each hand had four fingers and he had black talons on the three toes on his feet. Similarly, he had two black horns coming out of the very top of his head and he had black ridges running straight down his spine. The top of his head area was furrier than the rest of his body, but it had the appearance of being rolled back into a suitable hairstyle for him. His name? It was…

"Midbus. Here's today's meal." A prison guard said, as he tossed the pig a prison plate. Midbus looked up from his daydream and watched as the Toad guard started to walk away.

"I've been here for ten months…" Midbus started. He had been in prison long enough to refine his speech patterns, but not his attitude. "When do you bastards plan on letting me outta here?" The guard laughed at the pig's audacity.

"Let you out? Ha, ha! We'll get back to you on that." The guard laughed, as he walked away from the cell.

"…you're lucky you're on the other side of this gate…" Midbus growled.

He looked around the rather small cell that he was placed in; looking at the same walls for ten months straight had taken a toll on his mind and the lack of any real protein in the prison food that was given to him was slowly causing his body to deteriorate, especially considering that he refused to eat unless he was desperately hungry. He seemed more fat than muscular and he always had a tired, drained look in his ice-blue eyes. Those eyes…even though they were blue…there was no mistaking the empty, coldness that they embodied. The only one that wasn't ever afraid of or intimidated by those eyes was Midbus' former master, Fawful…he thought that the darkness that those eyes hid was "tasty". The pig lifted his slowly weakening body and strode over to the plate that was given to him; the slop that was on it disgusted him. In response to this, he picked it up and threw the stuff against a nearby wall.

"They expect this to be eaten…?" Midbus said, as he watched his "meal" slide down the wall like a sloppy pile of excrement.

He looked at the small window in his cell and forced himself to stand a few inches taller than he was so he could see the world outside. It was winter in the Mushroom Kingdom and there was snow on the ground from an earlier blizzard; from the looks of the clouds, it looked like there would be another coming soon. Midbus knew he had to get out of that cell; he couldn't possibly survive in there. He wished that he would have just been executed for treason or something; as far as anyone was concerned, he was from the Mushroom Kingdom and by working with Fawful to take it over, he may as well have committed treason. However, Princess Peach was opposed to the Death Penalty to anyone…something both Midbus and Bowser never quite understood. The result of this was that Midbus was to sit in a cell for who knew how long until he was released. For now though, Midbus thought he'd curl up near a wall and go to sleep…he had been sleeping a lot lately, usually twelve or more hours out of the day. Something was dying inside of him…was it his power?

-**20:31 hours; that night**-

The moon looked like a pearl in the sky that night, surrounded by that white dust…oh, yeah, those were called stars. Midbus lay in his cell, rubbing his stomach as it was continually growling and rumbling, cursing at him for not putting anything in it. He looked at the cell door in a forlorn manner…he wished he could somehow get a substantial meal. However, he was working out some kind of a way to escape this hell hole…he desperately needed it. He got up and walked over to the sink a few feet from him; the pig stared at it for a bit…and then kicked the sink bowl as hard as he could. It snapped off of the pipe that it was attached to and started to fall to the ground, but Midbus caught it just before it could make a sharp noise. In seconds, however, a sharp pain shot through his body.

Normally, he'd be able to do something like that with no drawback, but the lack of substantial nutrition weakened his strength and his ability to ignore mundane pain. He held back cries of pain and sat the sink gently on the floor, afterward ripping the curved pipe out of the wall (as best he could) until he had a long enough sample to accomplish what he was hoping to do. By now, Midbus knew that around this time, a guard usually walked by his cell…probably on night watch. He stood with his back to the bars and hid his weapon well, as the guard started to walk by just as he predicted. As soon as the guard was within a close enough distance of him, Midbus furiously stuck the pipe through the bars, wrapped it around the guard's neck and pulled him over as hard as he could.

Being caught off, well…guard, the Toad was easily forced in Midbus' direction and his head was smacked really hard against the metal bars, causing a severe wound that spilled blood. However, the only thing that Midbus was after was the key on his belt. The pig took the item and shoved it into the lock on the door, turning it and then opening the door…freedom.

"Sigh…luckily, or unluckily, my arms have shrunk due to your shitty food…" Midbus growled. He looked at the guard that was bleeding on the floor start to get up.

All at once, a foreign sensation took over Midbus and he picked up the guard with one hand and threw him against the wall on the other side of the cell. A blood splatter appeared on the wall and Midbus charged for him once more, ripping him off the wall and slamming him to the ground, causing rocks to erupt from the gravel floor…it seemed like his strength had recovered momentarily. The guard looked at the face that he had taunted earlier that day…something was different about Midbus. Something frightening…something…EVIL. His ice blue eyes flashed to a toxic green for a moment than changed back as Midbus roared in his face and proceeded to ferociously beat him. Screams were heard and blood splattered against the walls as Midbus continually shoved his fists into the guard, breaking bones and knocking out teeth as he did.

When the pig (or whatever was beating the helpless Toad) had his fill of savagery, he lifted himself from his victim. Midbus stared down at the Toad he had mercilessly assaulted and smirked at the blood and gore that was splattered along the floor. He slowly strode over to his victim's head and lifted his right foot over the head…and then brought it down with as much force as he could muster, causing the Toad's head to be completely destroyed and reduced to a mess of blood and gore. The pig closed his eyes and opened them in a few seconds, refreshing his mind of what he had done. He had never committed this level of violence before…at least, as far as he could remember, but it actually didn't bother him.

"Well…that's enough time spent here. More of 'em will probably show up once they realize that this guy's gone missing. I guess I should stop by the dinner hall to get something to eat…or maybe…" Midbus said.

He shrugged and raced down the hall as best as he could, considering his legs were quite short. He was praying that he wouldn't run into anymore guards; whatever euphoric strength had come over him minutes ago was gone and whatever he had was slowly waning. The door to the dungeon was straight ahead and Midbus used more of his waning power to shoulder charge straight through said door. He rolled as he made contact with the floor and dashed up the stairs, crashing through the door that came, shielding his eyes from the light of the main hall. Memories were coming to him…of taking over this castle with his Master. He stood for a few seconds until he heard a female yell; he looked up and Princess Peach was standing over the banister surrounded by guards.

"He's escaping! We can't let Midbus out into the Kingdom again!" Peach screamed.

"Shit…" Midbus muttered.

The pig wasted no time in crashing through the double doors and running down the long path, finally ending up in Toad Town. The cold weather and snow was daunting…especially without his transformation ability. However, the adrenaline running through his body was enough for him to continue to run from those who were chasing him. The pig ran through streets, leapt over vehicles and sometimes leaping on them, crushing roofs and hoods in as he made his way out of Toad Town. He could see the gates in the distance; he was going to escape…but then, a swarm of Toad guards blocked the gate and formed a horseshoe formation to stop Midbus. The pig stopped in his tracks, allowing the reality of his situation to sink in…the forlorn expression took his face quickly.

"Give up, Midbus. You are surrounded. You cannot escape!" One of the guards said through a bullhorn.

"_Damn it…I can't let them capture me here…not again…not again!_" Midbus thought to himself.

All at once, almost out of nowhere, pure rage came over Midbus. He did not want to let them capture him again…no more. He would not survive in prison. The pig kneeled down slightly…and he felt a dark shadow creep over his body. His eyes filled with a glowing green and he grit his teeth; a purple aura slowly rose from his body and looked like a huge fire plume. He brought his fists into the air and they started to radiate with the same aura.

"He's going to resist! Fire at will!" A Toad commander ordered.

Every guard in the formation whipped out the guns that they all held and started to rapidly fire at Midbus. Strangely enough, the bullets were having no realistic effect on the pig; the bullets seemed to just feed whatever aura was around him as it grew in size along with the aura around his hands. After a few minutes of this, Midbus let out a low growl and pushed his hands down toward the ground, palms first. His palms didn't actually hit the ground, but stopped just before touching the ground (about a foot above the ground); despite this, a shockwave rung out from the epicenter that was Midbus. It was a shockwave of an unknown force, yet all the same a familiar force. Any tall buildings within two miles of Midbus rocked because of whatever power he had mustered. Smaller houses either shook ferociously or collapsed under the sudden force and many cars simply exploded as they crackled with the energy that Midbus released. The guards were all shaken and tripped up as though an earthquake had occurred. Midbus took the chance to plow through the defensive line, but…

"_What _was_ that? Why did it leave me so…drained…? Whatever it was…I can't stop running. I have to get away from here…even if it…kills…me…_" Midbus thought.

The pig had no energy but he kept moving. He eventually made it through the gates, not minding whatever screams he heard coming as a result of the chaos he caused. He disappeared from Toad Town and the news quickly spread: the last remnant of the Dark Star incident, Midbus, had escaped from prison.

_**End Chapter I, next chapter: Recovery**_

_****_**Rhah:** I actually had this sitting on my computer for a while, but I'm posting here and now to garner interest.


	2. II: Recovery

_**V****endetta: The Story of Midbus**_ _by Rhah the Last Warlord_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Midbus or a vast majority of characters that appear in this story. I wish I did, 'cause then I'd be rich…but I don't.

**Plot:** After being locked in prison for ten months, Midbus escapes…and he feels himself unraveling. Fragmented memories, strange new powers, powerful desires for violence…all of these things culminate in Midbus finding the answer to some simple, yet complicated questions: where did I come from…and where am I going?

**Notes:** Well, I noticed that there weren't any stories focusing on this awesome character from Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (well, not that I could see), so I decided I'd do one. Now, this story has some pretty **dark** overtones like most of my stories. It also has a heavy amount of **violence**. And of course, **this story contains minor spoilers for the aforementioned game, so if you haven't finished it or you plan on playing it, think about that before you read this story.** With that, enjoy.

**Part I: Lusting for Power; Chapter II: Recovery**

After narrowly escaping Toad Town, Midbus had ran himself all the way to the plains near the enormous Blubble Lake. Given that the weather was quite icy (as it usually is in the winter time), the lake was frozen and the plains were covered in snow. The local wildlife took to hibernation so Midbus was really the only creature running around on the snowy plains. He had decided that he was far enough away from town, so he sought out somewhere to shelter and he found it under a rocky outcropping. There was grass under said rock due to the snow not falling through and there was a small cave inside of the hill that rock came out from. The pig sat in this cave, looking spitefully at the snow that fell; not because it made him cold but…

"I miss that power my master gave me…with training, I probably could have gained enough power to summon blizzards and ice storms like this…but now, that power is gone…" Midbus whispered.

The pig stared at the snow, but then looked down at the ground below him. He found himself looking at his hands…they looked as though they had been burned and his knuckles were glazed with dried blood. He rubbed them in the snow for no real reason than rose from where he sat; he knew what he had to do. It was time to carry out the recovery phase of his plan. He needed food and nourishment; not being in prison wasn't about to stop him from withering away due to the lack of food and water, and he knew better then to eat the snow on the ground for water. Throwing all of his thoughts out of the window, Midbus gathered himself and began walking through the fields near the leak. His destination? Somewhere where he could get what he needed. Somewhere where there was someone that could understand him…

-**Five days later, 13:00 hours**-

Almost an entire week later, the sun was shining through layers of light gray clouds, indicating that snow had just finished falling a short while ago. It was a beautiful scene, with a blue panorama shining through the cloud layer, bringing in rays of light that shined through frost covered trees and hills. However, someone on the far side of the Mushroom Kingdom wasn't enjoying the view from his jet black castle. He was the King of the Koopas, a proud, strong, dense beast with breath as hot as his attitude. He had an emerald colored shell covering his back that was graced with the trademark spikes, along with a fire red mane on top of his head, waving as wind billowed through it from the window. His eyes were the same color as his hair, and he had pearl white claws and talons upon his hands and feet respectively. He was big and muscular and wore black bracelets and a choker, each having white spiked studs around their diameter.

"Stupid snow…why is it still falling? It's damn near Spring!" Bowser said.

"Well, Lord Bowser, it won't be technically spring for a few more months." Kamek said.

Bowser was about to roar in a rebuttal, but he was cut off by the sharp sound of a loud knocking upon his doors. The King rolled his eyes and instructed Kamek to busy himself, which the magickoopa quickly did, while he walked to the door to see who was brashly beating on it. This went on the entire time that Bowser was going to the door and he got expectantly irritated.

"Yeah, yeah! Calm the hell down! I'm comin'! Who could that be, anyway? I swear, if it's that plumber…" Bowser said.

He finally made it to the hall that led to the door at which point, the knocking abruptly stopped. Being the way he was, Bowser was about to just turn around and return to his business…but he was curious and suspicious all the same. He continued to the door and gripped the knocker in his hand, turning it and opening the door with a loud creek. What he saw on the other side shocked him. He saw the body of someone that he remembered…someone he had defeated a long time ago. Midbus lay on Bowser's doorstep, the lack of food finally catching up to him; even Bowser could see that the warthog was horrifically pale.

"…what the hell are you doing here…?" Bowser said.

Midbus couldn't respond; his energy was gone. Bowser looked at the body and he was about to go back inside, but something prevented him from doing so. Maybe it was the sight of the dried blood on Midbus' knuckles that convinced him that something had to be done. Conveniently enough, some of Bowser's minions were poking their heads through the door. He turned around and reacted with a trademark tantrum.

"Hey! If you have time to be lazy, you have time to get your butts in gear and bring this guy inside!" Bowser said, while clapping his hands harshly.

"Lord Bowser, I thought you hated this g—" a koopaguard soldier started.

"Less questions, more action! Tell those Boos to get a meal goin' and make sure it's hot!"

By the time Bowser had finished yelling, hoards of his minions had gathered around Midbus to try and lift him inside of the castle. When they failed, the King shoved them out of the way and went to lift Midbus himself…Bowser was surprised when he could lift his rival with barely half of his full strength. This worried him slightly, though he didn't know where such worry had come from, and he walked through his own doors to resurrect the giant pig that was once his rival. After checking that no one was watching from a distance, Bowser slammed the doors to his castle…which stood proud and powerful as it accepted its new occupant…

-**Unknown Place, Unknown Time**-

"_Access authorized."_

"_Ah…the experiment seems to be going fine."_

"_Yes…but do you truly think that we chose the correct—"_

"_The correct beings for him to live under? Of course! They are gentle, of course. Perhaps the right setting will help to mitigate that violent personality."_

"_I hope so…otherwise…"_

-**Bowser Castle, 18:30 Hours**-

For the first time in a long time, he felt warmth…and it wasn't in his head. Midbus was finally coming to, as he shook his head and slowly opened his eyes. He rose and found that he was lying in a large bed in a room of a size that was just as respectable. There was a hot meal on a nightstand next to the bed he lay in, with soup that was blowing steam into the air, meat in the form of large fried legs from an albatoss, fried cheep-cheep and rice. There was also broth and iced tea, all waiting to enter Midbus' belly. The pig was about to jump up and pray to someone, but then he remembered that he didn't really believe in Gods. As he picked up the large plate and moved it onto his covered lap, he took a large bite out of the albatoss leg and momentarily felt his spirit leave his body in pleasure. He didn't remember the last time he had a meal like this. He continued to attack the leg when the door on the far side of the room opened slowly, and Bowser stood leaning against the door frame.

"Well, I guess the Boos did their job well." Bowser said. Midbus was so startled by the voice that he nearly choked.

"Corgh! Augh…oh…Bow…ser…" Midbus said.

The pig looked at the koopa king…and set the leg that was currently in his hands back down on the plate. Blue eyes met red and for the first time, there was no hostility in either. Midbus raked his curled mane back for no reason, but forgot that he had grease on those fingers. He sucked his teeth in protest and quickly, albeit awkwardly, picked up a napkin that was on his plate and wiped his hands and hair with it. He moved the plate back onto the nightstand and swept the spread off of his body and stood straight, but as soon as he did, his head started to spin in a flurry of dizziness. Bowser shook his head and walked over to the pig, shoving him back on the bed.

"I—" Midbus started.

"Stop. You must be pretty stupid; then again, I always thought that. You're clearly devoid of energy and injured in some manner and you think that you can just get up right away?" Bowser said. He folded his arms as if expecting an answer.

"…"

"And last I heard, from one of my minions of course, you had a fever. Cold does that. I didn't bring you in here just to have you run out and die somewhere. You looked as if you desperately needed something and I guessed that something was food and drink. You're welcome to stay here until you can walk straight and after that, you can get out of my sight."

"…I apologize…"

"For what?" Bowser walked back to the door he had entered and prepared to turn down the hallway, "By the way…when did you start talking correctly?"

Midbus scratched his head and Bowser disappeared down the hall. The pig let out a long breath and slumped into his offered bed further…he knew it. He knew something was genuinely not right about his whole situation…he wasn't supposed to be there and he knew it. However, he couldn't do anything about it and thinking too hard about his situation wasn't going to make anything any better. He thought about all of this while he continued to work his way through the dinner that was given to him, particularly taking his time with the rice.

"_I'm deadlocked, really…what could I possibly do now? I can't stay here, 'cause I'm more a less a fugitive and I don't want to have them comin' after Bowser…_" Midbus thought.

After finishing the last of his food, Midbus firmly collapsed onto the bed and rubbed his belly. His stomach seemed to be poking out further and he could feel that his weight had truly increased. He instinctively let out a hardy belch and the only thing that he could summon at that moment was the power to crawl under the covers and drift off into slumber…letting his dreams take him away…

_**End Chapter II, next chapter: Hazy Identity**_

_****_**Rhah:** Writing Midbus' dialogue was pretty interesting. I wanted him to sound less moronic than he did in _M&L:BIS _but I didn't want him to sound too intelligent for his character. Anyway, R&R.


	3. III: Hazy Identity

**_Vendetta: The Story of Midbus _**_by Rhah the Last Warlord_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Midbus or a vast majority of characters that appear in this story. I wish I did, 'cause then I'd be rich…but I don't.

**Plot:** After being locked in prison for ten months, Midbus escapes…and he feels himself unraveling. Fragmented memories, strange new powers, powerful desires for violence…all of these things culminate in Midbus finding the answer to some simple, yet complicated questions: where did I come from…and where am I going?

**Notes:** Well, I noticed that there weren't any stories focusing on this awesome character from Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (well, not that I could see), so I decided I'd do one. Now, this story has some pretty dark overtones like most of my stories. It also has a heavy amount of violence. And of course, **this story contains minor spoilers for the aforementioned game, so if you haven't finished it or you plan on playing it, think about that before you read this story.** With that, enjoy.

**Part I: Lusting for Power; Chapter III: Hazy Identity**

_Fog was obscuring his vision, but he could make out some tall mountains and he could hear a river flowing nearby. There were voices talking and yelling around him; they were mostly jumbled together, but they didn't make him feel afraid or uncomfortable…they made him feel somewhat happy…_

"_M…! Co…on! L…s play!" One voice said._

"_Y…i, we're…oth…sid…land! That's…you…from!" Another voice…_

"_Wh…ever, let…hur…up!"_

-**Bowser Castle, 07:30 Hours**-

Midbus groaned as his strange dreams woke him. He covered his face with his hands as the sun beamed in from the window. Once again, the pig let out an unpleasant sound as he stretched his arms and let his brains unscramble. It was strange…he felt much better than he did the day before when he felt as though he could die any second. On this new morning, Midbus felt as though nothing had ever happened to him and after waking up some more, he welcomed the sun rising to him. But what about that dream? Where was that place and who were the voices coming from?

"Hmm…I wonder where that place was…even though I didn't know where I was, I felt as though I could call it…" Midbus whispered.

He rubbed his temple and tried to force some of the images back to the surface of his conscious, but to no avail. Midbus shrugged and threw the covers off of his body, rising to his feet beyond the bed. After confirming that he could stand straight, the pig turned around and smoothed out the covers. Some emotion in him pushed him to turn around and open the window near the bed; a cold winter breeze brushed past his face and for some reason or another, it felt really nice…but at the same time, the intense sunlight was almost burning his body. He looked across the vast landscape that he crossed to get here. It seemed completely implausible that he arrived in a castle that was on the complete opposite side of the kingdom, but he really did travel all of that distance…and Bowser really did take him in. But, despite the Koopa King's unusual generosity…

"…I gotta get out of here…" Midbus growled, "This doesn't feel right…and I want to know…where that place was in my dream…"

Resolute about his decision, Midbus closed the window and started to walk toward the door. As soon as he was within three feet of it, the door opened and he was met with a magickoopa, easily recognizable by their blue and white cloaks and hats, not to mention the tiny glasses that may as well have been their eyes.

"Well, someone's up early…" the magickoopa said. Midbus narrowed his eyes.

"Is there a problem…?" Midbus said.

"Oh, no. His unpredictableness ordered me to check up on you…none of us expected you to be up so early, you see…"

"Right. Anyway, do you mind? I've gotta go. Tell Bowser I said 'thanks'…or something…"

"Oh, we can't have you leaving yet. What if you collapse again? Aside from that, it wouldn't be very polite on your part to just up and leave out of nowhere."

"Well, I apologize…or something. Either way, I have somewhere to be."

"Where could a fugitive 'have to be'?"

"…Are we seriously going to have this discussion?"

"I don't think so. I can just advise you to just wait until His lordship lets you leave…by the way, my name's Kamek."

Kamek left Midbus and turned down the hall from which he came. Midbus stood and waited…and he heard the door at the end of the hall shut ominously. The pig was once again at a standstill, but he decided to go back into the room that he was offered, closing the door behind him as he went back to his bed…

-**Mushroom Kingdom, 10:00 Hours**-

It had been nearly a week since Midbus escaped from prison. The area near the town gates was almost repaired from the damage that occurred during Midbus' escape. The panic from that night had calmed for the most part and it was decided that the search efforts would be called off for the moment so calm could return to some degree. At this time, the Mario Brothers were walking up the path to Peach's Castle.

"I don't know why, but somehow, I was expecting this…" Mario said. He adjusted his red cap which matched his shirt under his blue overalls.

"What exactly, bro?" Luigi said. He also adjusted his green cap which matched his shirt. His overalls were also blue.

"Midbus' escape. It seemed like it was a little too easy to keep him locked up."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But somehow I wonder why the princess didn't just get rid of him? You know, just drop him off somewhere far away?"

"Probably because he's unpredictable. We don't even know where the guy came from and it seems completely implausible that Fawful created him…than again…"

"Fawful was pretty intelligent, despite his insanity. While it seems unlikely that he created Midbus…I would think that it's at least a slight possibility."

Mario lightly punched Luigi in the arm and smiled as he continued their conversation, becoming ever interested in his brother's analytical theories. They talked until their brown shoes reached the large double doors of Peach's castle. As Mario opened the doors, Luigi stood at the sides and noted the slight damage to the hinges and even the interior side of the doors as they walked inside of the castle. In the main hall, the Mario Brothers were met with a pink dress and a soft smile. Princess Peach stood in the main hall, speaking with her most prominent right hand, Toadsworth.

"Thank you for coming, Mario…Luigi." Peach said.

"No problem. So we're here to discuss…" Mario started.

"Midbus. As you know, he escaped from the prison about a week ago. Even though nothing has happened in the days after his escape, he could still become a threat."

"So where do you think that he would go?" Luigi said.

"Well…during the Dark Star incident, it did seem like he had a connection with Bowser…"

"Yeah, but Bowser hated the guy. He said as much when we asked him about Midbus a few days after the castles had been rebuilt."

"I actually had a feeling that this wouldn't be a very effective lead, but he couldn't just disappear."

"Beyond that, however, there is something that we wanted you two to know." Toadsworth said.

"What's that?" Mario said.

"The day that Midbus escaped, the police came to the castle to investigate. When they looked in his cell…they saw a ghastly sight."

"The toad that was guarding that prison level was mutilated. I don't really want to go into the details of what his body looked like, but it was horrid. What made it strange was that Midbus didn't really eat when he was locked away…"

"So you assume that he wouldn't have been able to do too much in the way of violence. That makes sense, seeing as his energy would have been all but depleted if he lacked food."

"We should continue this discussion elsewhere, shouldn't we?"

The brothers nodded and they along with Peach and Toadsworth continued to the meeting room on the second floor. Luigi was rubbing his chin in thought; he knew that Peach had a point. Why would Midbus have the energy to invoke such violence and then escape through Toad Town, completely knocking aside a defensive line of Toad guards? Something wasn't adding up…and then there was the question of where he could have gone to just disappear…

-**Bowser Castle, 11:00 Hours**-

In the dining hall, Bowser, Midbus and a few of the former's minions were sitting down at an oval table, eating a proper breakfast. In particular, Midbus was feasting on a ten stack of pancakes, some eggs and two waffles. There was also a mug of tea near his plate. Bowser was eating the same, with the exception of the waffles being traded for sausage. The koopa king watched Midbus eat and noticed that he was eating pretty slowly, sometimes picking at his food while his eyes seemed to lose focus. As the pig ate more, he stopped abruptly and looked at Bowser; the latter looked back with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Bowser said.

"You're not…trying to get me really fat like my Master and I did to you…that one time, right…?" Midbus said.

"You really think I would have the gall to bring you into my castle, feed you and give you a bed…just to trick you for revenge's sake?"

"…I apologize…"

"Whatever. If I was beaten up and you helped me for no reason…I'd be pretty suspicious too. Just remember that I would have no qualms about kicking you out of here."

"I…I apolo—"

"Stop apologizing; it doesn't make either of us look any better."

Silence reigned in the hall after that. The two beasts ate in silence until their plates were clear. Midbus's palm was to his cheek and he rotated his index finger on the table. After Bowser gave the instruction to his servants to grab their dishes, he looked at the pig. Midbus looked back at him.

"So why did you save me…?" Midbus said.

"Oh you know…just to further prove that I'm stronger than you: both physically and mentally."

That statement hit Midbus like a wrecking ball knocking a huge hole in an impenetrable castle wall. How did he end up here? He was here because Bowser took him in after he collapsed on the former's doorstep. He collapsed because he lacked any energy after escaping from prison. He escaped from prison because he would not have been able to live in there any longer. He was in prison because he was pretty much stranded after Fawful's plans had failed. Bowser played a big part in Fawful's plans failing, and he was able to because he got through Midbus. Bowser was able to get through Midbus because the latter couldn't defeat the former. Midbus couldn't defeat Bowser because…he was Weak? The color seemed to drain from Midbus' face as he thought about these things.

"Hey…you okay?" Bowser said.

Midbus didn't respond; he just got up from the chair he was sitting in and walked out of the room, walking upstairs and disappearing back to his room…

-**Unknown Place, Unknown Time**-

"…_ey, M…s, wher…ou…m…fro…?"_

"_Y…i, do you…y…thi…woul…kno…tha…?"_

"_Yeah, y…ight. Sor…Mi…o yo…want t…pl…om…more?"_

"_N…thi…I'm…do…fo…day…Yo…It wa…fu…tho…"_

"_Of cour…! I had f…t…! I…we…friends, …us!"_

"_Friends…?"_

"_Y…ly…! Friends!"_

-**Bowser Castle, 22:46 Hours**-

Midbus' eyes snapped open and he drew a sharp breath. He calmed down just as fast, however and looked up at the ceiling as he lay in his bed. There was a warm feeling all across his body…what could it have been? Midbus turned over on his stomach and tried to jar his brain. He retired to his room after breakfast when Bowser said something that he didn't like. He didn't come out until he felt dirty and took a bath, retiring to his room once again. He didn't come out until he was called for lunch; he ate a silent lunch with Bowser and went back to his room. He was called once again for dinner, during which Bowser pointed out that Midbus was on the news. The pig looked at the television, glared and returned to his room with his plate. A Boo took his cleared plate later and he was in his room ever since, dozing off at exactly 9:00.

Why did Bowser's words bother him so much? He couldn't remember when, but at some point in his life, Midbus resolved that weakness was just something that he wouldn't have; maybe that resolution was coming back because of Bowser's words. The pig lifted himself off of the bed, groaning in the process, and exited the room, closing the door behind him almost soundlessly. As if he knew where he was going, Midbus walked down to the first floor and rounded an immediate corner. He walked down another staircase and his path led him across a bridge, over a lake of magma. He entered the next room and found a room that also had a lake of magma at its bottommost section. However, this room also had a large square in the center to serve as the floor and in the middle of that floor, was a punching bag. It hung on a black chain that stretched from the roof…judging by all of the weights that were about…

"This must be some kind of training room. Well, I guess even Bowser has to actually work out to maintain his strength. I'm sure he won't mind if I use some of his equipment…" Midbus said.

He reassured himself and walked across the bridge that was presented to him, glancing at all of the statues of the koopa king that were placed at the north, east and west sides of the room. Midbus removed his obsidian cuffs and replaced them with black training gloves that lay on a bench near him. He also spotted a black belt with a dragon depicted on it in gold leaf; he wrapped the belt around his sizable gut. The pig looked at the punching bag and brought his fists up: the time for laying around was over. Unbeknownst to Midbus, there was a camera in one of the corners of the ceiling.

In another room where there were monitors, Bowser smirked.

_**End Chapter III, next chapter: Black Ice**_


	4. IV: Black Ice

**_Vendetta: The Story of Midbus _**_by Rhah the Last Warlord_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Midbus or a vast majority of characters that appear in this story. I wish I did, 'cause then I'd be rich…but I don't.

**Plot:** After being locked in prison for ten months, Midbus escapes…and he feels himself unraveling. Fragmented memories, strange new powers, powerful desires for violence…all of these things culminate in Midbus finding the answer to some simple, yet complicated questions: where did I come from…and where am I going?

**Notes:** Well, I noticed that there weren't any stories focusing on this awesome character from Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (well, not that I could see), so I decided I'd do one. Now, this story has some pretty dark overtones like most of my stories. It also has a heavy amount of violence. And of course, **this story contains minor spoilers for the aforementioned game, so if you haven't finished it or you plan on playing it, think about that before you read this story.** With that, enjoy.

**Part I: Lusting for Power**

**Chapter IV: Black Ice**

-**Bowser Castle, 06:07 Hours**-

One final punch rang from the underground training hall, followed by a loud thud. Midbus lay on the ground on his back with his arms spread out from his body. His body was drenched with sweat and heavy breaths were heard from his maw. It had been three days since he started using Bowser's equipment to retrain himself and it was going well. His arms were solid again and he felt nothing but force whenever he swung them. Midbus' confidence was coming back in droves as he rose to his feet. As he started to remove the training gloves from his hands, he heard clapping coming from the door. Midbus turned around and he saw Bowser standing in the doorway, clapping his hands with a grin on his face. The pig scratched his head.

"Umm…what?" Midbus said.

"Yeah, I was waiting for you to come down here and stop feeling sorry for yourself…" Bowser said, as he crossed the bridge.

"I'm not even gonna start to think that you actually care about me."

"Good job, because I don't. The way I saw it, the faster you got out of that depression, the quicker you could get out of my castle and out of my sight."

Midbus said nothing. He simply closed his eyes, turned his head and looked at the ground. There was a feeling welling from deep inside of him. Anger. Murderous intent. He removed the training gloves and refitted his obsidian cuffs; he looked at Bowser and his eyes gleamed…then he brought up his fists. Bowser looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"What, are you kidding?" Bowser said. Midbus shook his head.

"…While I am grateful for everything you've done for me, I'm honestly sick of you. You'll be my first…objective, I'll say…" Midbus said.

"Hah! You think I'll just let you do this, huh? Well, I'll just have to teach you some proper manners and hospitality, huh?"

The two beasts stood apart from one another. Midbus wore a hideous scowl (as best as could make out given his facial makeup) and Bowser wore a cocky smirk. After a few minutes of staring at each other, Bowser made the first move by dashing at his adversary with his fist raised. Midbus watched him and as he came within range, the pig ducked to the side and shoved a soft fist into Bowser's gut. He followed this destabilizing attack with a harder punch straight across Bowser's maw. The Koopa King took the blow to his face and (surprisingly) flew a few feet across the battlefield. Bowser caught himself on the ground and looked back up, rubbing the side of his face. Midbus stood with his fist straight out and slowly brought it back towards his body.

"What's wrong? Lose your nerve?" Midbus said.

"…Bastard!" Bowser said.

The Koopa King drew in air and released a fire storm toward Midbus. The pig jumped toward his adversary and went for a kick, but Bowser brought his arms up and blocked the attack. In return, the Koopa King countered the blow by grabbing Midbus' foot and bringing him to the ground with a hard throw. The floor cracked from Midbus' impact, but he looked back up at Bowser with fury in his eyes. Those eyes flashed green for a split second and Midbus pulled his foot away. He pushed off of it as it hit the ground and went for a haymaker, but Bowser dipped back, turned sharply, and rammed into Midbus with his shell. The pig spun in the air and hit the ground on his belly. He had puncture wounds on the front of his belly and chest as he pushed himself up.

"Hmph…you think you're so tough. What exactly are trying to prove?" Bowser said.

"You should talk…you think you're the absolute best…but, you are _always_ being defeated…by a _plumber_!" Midbus shot back.

Bowser grit his fangs and ran at Midbus once more, this time ducking low in a charging position. Midbus stood and waited, then jumped to the side at the last minute. Bowser immediately stopped and ran toward Midbus once more, catching the pig by surprise. He gripped Midbus by the throat and slammed him to the ground, pinning him there. Bowser looked down with a cocky grin, then he began to charge a fireball in his mouth. In a moment, he released the fireball and it exploded on impact, sending Midbus flying back and crashing to the ground. Bowser stood up and looked at his singed opponent, smirking. However, his smirk melted when he witnessed a strange phenomenon. Midbus slinked up to his feet in a slow, almost slimy movement and his shadow started vibrating. Midbus turned around and opened his eyes…and they were bright green with absolutely no light in them. A black shadow crawled over him and the ground shook slightly before a huge, black and purple ice crystal exploded out of the ground, enveloping Midbus.

Bowser mouthed a swear and as soon as he did, the ice collapsed. Midbus' skin tone had changed from its normal deep magenta to turquoise and the hard shell-like membrane that covered his back had transformed into a furry cover of an orange-brownish color versus its usual yellow. A gold crown sprouted from the top of his head and whenever he exhaled a breath, cold vapor exited his nose. Bowser immediately had flashbacks of his final battle with the monster. As he looked closer at Midbus, Bowser realized that something was different about his rival; mainly the green eyes and the odd black welts scattered across his body. A cold breeze blew across the entire room, followed by Midbus' eyes glowing momentarily. Ice clusters started bursting from the ground toward Bowser, each one sending snow into the air as it appeared. The Koopa King ducked to the side and barely avoided the giant cluster that exploded in the place that he originally occupied.

"What is wrong with…" Bowser started.

He was interrupted by the blue pig jumping toward him and stopping just short of his face. Midbus brought his fist low and it was enveloped in deep blue ice. He delivered a harsh uppercut that sent Bowser so high, that he barely hit the ceiling. He crashed to the ground, but as he tried to get up, Midbus was looking at him…with a deadly look in his eyes. A cold aura surrounded the pig…Bowser looked at him as though he were looking into the eyes of a raging God.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Bowser said.

Midbus brought his fist up and it became instantly frozen. He prepared to bring his fist down on Bowser's head, but then…

-**Unknown Place, Unknown Time**-

_ The area was covered in ice; the grass was frozen, the limestone temple was frozen and even the trees were frozen. Snow was falling even though it was a tropical summer day and the ground was coated in frost. A green dinosaur-like creature ran into the area and beheld the absolute zero; only one thing was on his mind._

"_Midbus! Where are you?" Yoshi said._

_ He looked around further and found a turquoise blue pig beast standing on the steps of the frozen temple. He looked at Yoshi and instantly started to hide himself; the green dinosaur followed and found Midbus trying to hide himself all the way in the back of the temple, but it came to no effect. Yoshi walked up to him and, despite the blizzard temperature around the pig, stood by his side._

"_Midbus…what's wrong…?" Yoshi said._

"_I…I don't know. I just…suddenly transformed into this…and then everything froze…" Midbus said._

"_Okay…just calm yourself…breath…"_

_ Midbus did as he was told and simply breathed deep breathes. In a matter of moments, the ice disappeared and left melt-water in its place. Midbus was still in his strange form, but he was rather glad that nothing was frozen anymore. He looked at Yoshi with a warm look in his eyes and the green dinosaur returned it, before softly punching the pig in the shoulder and running away. Still in his icy state, Midbus smiled and got himself up before running after Yoshi…_

-**Bowser's Castle, 06:09 Hours**-

Midbus stood staring into space, just over Bowser. The latter simply gave the former a raised eyebrow; the pig slowly brought his fists down to his sides and walked away from Bowser; naturally, the Koopa King didn't take too kindly to that.

"Hey! Where do think you're going?" Bowser said.

Midbus simply continued to walk away and when he reached the center of the floor, he stopped…before slowly crouching and executing a mighty leap through the many ceilings above. He sailed over the castle and landed outside of the building, causing a large tremor and giant ice clusters to explode from the ground around the impact point. At that point, the transformation faded and Midbus was normal again before he took off through the nearby woods. Back in the castle, Bowser looked at the many holes through the many ceilings.

"I have no idea…what is going on…" Bowser said.

-**Koopa Troopa Beach, 08:01 Hours**-

With the sea caressing his feet with every weakened wave and sand filtering through his open hand as he let it, Midbus sat staring at the ocean. Well, he wasn't really staring at the sea as much as he was staring at an island in the distance.

"Yoshi's…Island…" Midbus said. "I wonder how you get there. If I went there, maybe I wouldn't have to run from anyone anymore…"

He got to his feet and started walking along the beach. For the first time in a while, Midbus felt truly at some kind of peace; there wasn't really anything on his mind and he felt a wonderfully calming feeling each time the surging waves caressed his feet. After walking for a bit, he noticed that the sand stretched off into a strait that led to a small islet. On said islet, there was a green pipe. The pig raised an eyebrow and walked on the sandy path, arriving in front of the pipe; he looked down it and could see nothing but darkness.

"This must be one of those warp pipes…I wonder…" Midbus said.

He checked to see if anyone was watching him, then he climbed over the rim and jumped down into the pipe…well, at least he tried. The rotund pig got stuck thanks to his now mile-wide gut. Midbus grit his fangs and wrestled with his fat, pushing his gut in and pulling at the pipe to force himself down it. After a bit of negotiating, the porcine beast forced himself into the pipe, where he fell into the darkness…

-**Yoshi's Island, 08:02 Hours**-

Like most of that region of the Mushroom Kingdom, Yoshi's Island had a blanket of thin snow, left behind by the recent snowfall. In the northern corner of the island, there was a warp pipe and it expanded slightly as a body was coming up. Midbus poked forth from the pipe, but once again got stuck because of his fat. He forced himself through in a manner of minutes and fell to the ground back-first. He got to his feet and took in the scenery: the tropical trees, the deep jungles, the limestone ruins, the rivers and waterfalls flowing with pure water…

"This place is so…" Midbus started. He stopped as he heard birds chirping. "…peaceful…"

Midbus started walking forward but he stopped as he heard humming. He looked for a place to hide himself but was too late as a figure appeared on the path. The figure was a dinosaur-like creature with green and white skin; he was wearing a crown-like accessory on his head and other adornments on his body while holding some kind of staff. He was humming to himself and half-skipping down the road until he stopped and looked up; Midbus simply stood with his arms at his sides as the two sets of eyes locked on one another. The dinosaur scanned the pig: the body shape, the magenta hue, the ice-blue eyes…

"…Midbus?" the dinosaur said. Midbus shuddered slightly at the sound of his name. "Midbus…right?"

"Uhh…grr…" Midbus said. He put one hand to his head to try and recall the dream…"…Yoshi?"

All at once, Yoshi smiled and ran up the inclined road, jumping at Midbus and hugging him. After a moment of his eyes simply widening, Midbus returned the gesture. Yoshi stepped away and looked at the pig beast…nothing had really changed about him other than the tattoo on his left shoulder. Meanwhile, on Midbus's end, Yoshi looked completely different than he did in his visions: he was taller, dressed with random things befitting a tribe king and carrying some weird wooden staff. Despite these things however, Yoshi's honest navy blue eyes told Midbus that he was the one…the one who called him his "friend".

"Come; I'll take you to the village. It's probably much different than you remember." Yoshi said.

-**Blue Wake Village, 08:12 Hours**-

Blue Wake was the name of the lively village on Yoshi's Island, where generally most of the natives congregated, though they mostly lived in their own homes scattered across the island. As was usually the case, everyone was laughing and smiling, but the reactions were somewhat mixed when Yoshi was seen walking through the village with a giant pig. Older Yoshis smiled because they may have remembered Midbus hanging around Yoshi when he was little; meanwhile, younger Yoshi's were somewhat frightened of the beast walking around with one of their own and one of the first thoughts in their minds was probably, "is he going to eat him?" Yoshi and Midbus stopped walking as they reached the center of town, where there was a stone water fountain. Midbus sat upon it and looked around.

"So yeah…I'm the village chieftain now." Yoshi said. He raised his staff. "I'm the leader that everyone comes to when there's a crisis…or something like that."

"A crisis? I can't imagine that there would be anything remotely similar to a crisis on this island." Midbus said.

"Well, try telling the old ones that." Yoshi sat next to Midbus; he looked at his friend and the former looked off into space.

"…you're right."

"Huh?"

"This place does look much different…though it's weird that I can say that when I barely remember anything from that time."

"But…you remembered my name."

"I…kind of had to work for that. But it also helped that my dreams have just been…radiant with resurfacing memories. Honestly…I had no records of any childhood until recently."

"Wow…that's sad…what happened to you, anyway? It's been, like, ten years since I remember we last saw each other."

"Oh, you know….stuff…"

"Stuff."

"I don't want to talk about it…I really just need to rest; I've been through a lot lately."

"Well, that's cool. We, more so I, kept the old temple in order just in case you happened to return one day. You can rest there."

"You weren't obsessing over me, were you?"

Yoshi laughed a hearty laugh and put out his hand; Midbus smiled and grabbed his hand, afterward being helped to his feet…and stumbling slightly. Yoshi grabbed him and then led him away to the forest, where the temple lay…

-**Limestone Temple, 21:00 Hours**-

After that, the day wasn't very eventful, beyond Yoshi and Midbus conversing during the walk about their separated pasts…unsurprisingly, Yoshi had much more to say than Midbus did. The day had gone by the time Yoshi left Midbus alone in his "home" and let him drift off. The pig's bed was a bunch of soft leaves that felt like no less than a high-quality mattress. He was snoring loudly with his arm on his belly with the night sky dotted with stars clearly visible through the massive entryway. Nothing could possibly disturb him…not even an unusually large shooting star falling from the sky. Just as a massive flash lit up the night sky, a being appeared in the temple. It was clad in silver and cerulean armor, with the head being completely obscured by a full helmet. There were lots of star insignias on the armor and a mane of red-orange hair flowed from the back of the helmet.

The armor clinked as the being walked toward Midbus, stopping just as it stood over the pig and didn't disturb him. It reached by its side and drew a broadsword that also had a star insignia imprinted on it. It raised its sword and aimed it at Midbus' chest. Without uttering a sound, the being brought its sword down, intent on relieving the pig of his life. Just as the sword came close to his heart…a sharp sound was heard as the sword came to rest on one of Midbus' bracers. The pig had woken and blocked the sword with his left wrist bracer. Midbus stared in contempt at the being that just tried to kill him…and knocked it away, allowing himself to stand up and face the being.

"I hope you realize that I'll have to kill you now." Midbus said.

The being said nothing and readied its blade while the pig readied his fists. The Star Knight made the first move, lunging forward in a deft thrusting attack; Midbus side-stepped and responded with a jumping roundhouse. The knight took the hit, but the sound that rung out was that of clanking metal. The knight immediately recovered and grabbed Midbus by the nose, lifting him with just one hand; the pig struggled, but couldn't escape before he was thrown from the temple and down the stairs, rolling on the ground afterward. Midbus forced himself up and moved just in time to watch the knight jump from the top of the temple steps and embed his sword into the soft earth in an attempt to impale the pig. Midbus put his fists up and the knight responded by putting his blade up; they were essentially in the same position in which they started.

"Hrrm…who are you, anyway? I've had about enough of people trying to kill me!" Midbus said. Unsurprisingly, the knight said nothing. "Grr…silent. You're all business, huh?"

The knight held his free hand up and the star crest on the back of his gauntlet lit up; he then pointed his fist at Midbus and large blasts of star energy were shot out toward the pig. Midbus' eyes widened and he was struck by every single one of them, the last one sending him flying back through the air and crashing to the ground. The pig attempted to push himself to his feet, but fell back down as the energy from the knight's earlier attack sparked across his body; his opponent closed in and raised his blade…

"No…get away from me…_you armored piece of shit_!" Midbus said.

The purple aura that had recently started appearing around Midbus in dire moments resurfaced and his eyes turned completely green…but then his aura changed from purple to a deep blue and it started giving off a bright light; around that moment, the knight decided it was a good idea to jump back. The pig let out an earth-shaking roar as something deep in his brain activated…or maybe reactivated.

_**End of Chapter IV, next chapter: Journey**_


	5. V: Journey

**_Vendetta: The Story of Midbus __by Rhah the Last Warlord_**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Midbus or a vast majority of characters that appear in this story. I wish I did, 'cause then I'd be rich…but I don't.

**Plot:** After being locked in prison for ten months, Midbus escapes…and he feels himself unraveling. Fragmented memories, strange new powers, powerful desires for violence…all of these things culminate in Midbus finding the answer to some simple, yet complicated questions: where did I come from…and where am I going?

**Notes:** Well, I noticed that there weren't any stories focusing on this awesome character from Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (well, not that I could see), so I decided I'd do one. Now, this story has some pretty dark overtones like most of my stories. It also has a heavy amount of violence. And of course, **this story contains minor spoilers for the aforementioned game, so if you haven't finished it or you plan on playing it, think about that before you read this story.** With that, enjoy.

**Part I: Lusting for Power**

**Chapter V: Journey**

-**Unknown Place, Unknown Time**-

"_Your n…Midbus. Y…war…otect…Dark Star."_

"_Me…Star…?"_

"_Yes…ar…oad…where you were born. Protect…place."_

"_Yes…I will protect…"_

-**Limestone Temple, 21:05 Hours**-

Despite his memory giving him garbled messages again, Midbus wasn't worried about it; the savage aura was still raging around him, giving off a light that rivaled the brightest star. The knight simply watched him and when the pig didn't really do anything beyond the roaring he was already doing, the warrior charged another bolt of star energy and sent it at Midbus; it was aimed directly at his chest, primed to pierce his heart. As the bolt came within range of its target however, Midbus reached his hand out and his aura stretched to that hand, halting the bolt in its tracks. Midbus' hand (and his whole arm, for that matter) vibrated wildly as he kept the bolt at bay; at the climax of this activity, the bolt changed from its normal blue and yellow hue to a toxic green and blue, before Midbus pushed his hand forward and fired the energy back its origin. It increased in size and speed when it was redirected and it pierced the knight straight through his chest, exploding out of the back of his body like a shotgun blast. The knight shook, then fell back, not stirring afterward.

Midbus stood with his eyes wide and his entire body shivering; his aura dissipated and his eyes returned to normal before he collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily.

"Huff…huff…what…was that?!" Midbus said.

He looked at his hand and there was a burn mark; this was odd to Midbus, considering that he didn't necessarily touch the energy. He shook his head and got to his feet, walking over to the body of the knight that almost killed him.

"Now then…let's see who you are." Midbus said.

He bent down and gripped the helmet; what surprised him was that it took all of his might to wrench the helmet free of the rest of the armor. When he did, Midbus found that…

"Empty?!" Midbus said.

The armor was completely empty; no body, no blood, nothing. All that was there to give the pig something to think about was a faint magic glyph carved into the inside of the armor. Feeling that he had finally had enough, Midbus dropped the helmet on the rest of the armor and walked back into the temple; he collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep again a short time later…though he was much more keen to keep his senses peeled…

-**Bowser Castle, 08:50 Hours**-

Back at Bowser Castle, the Koopa King himself was overseeing the repairs to the many floors/roofs that had been damaged the day before. Everything was going well with Bowser barking orders every five seconds, but then a knock came to his door.

"Ugh, who the hell could that be…?" Bowser said.

He left his work team and walked to his front doors, opening them to find the Mushroom Kingdom Secret Service along with some Special Forces personnel outside. The Koopa King folded his arms and narrowed his eyes; he somehow had a feeling what this was about.

"Good morning, Koopa King." An agent said. He quickly dug in his pocket and flashed his badge.

"What do you guys want?" Bowser said.

"We are looking for a fugitive; one you might know."

"Oh?"

"Yes." The toad agent reached in his pocket once more and produced an image that Bowser definitely knew. "His name is Midbus. He is the last remnant of the Dark Star incident and was known to have been a rival of yours."

"Your point?"

"Have you seen this fugitive, Koopa King?"

"Hmm…" Bowser thought to himself for a moment. He could easily tell them all that he had done for the pig beast that was in his castle not a day before, but… "Nope. Haven't seen him."

"Hmm…" the agent lowered his shades momentarily to look at Bowser. "Well, if you see him, tell somebody. We want to get him apprehended as soon as possible."

"Oh, for sure." The Koopa King leaned against his doorway and shooed the agents away. "Heh, keep up the look guys; you almost look intimidating!"

Bowser turned around and shut his doors, leaning against them as soon as he was back inside. He looked at his team repairing his floors and instantly cast his mind back to when Midbus leaped through them.

"Hmph…considering what he did here…even if those guys do find him, he'll probably kill them. He didn't seem too keen to go back to prison…"

-**Limestone Temple, 08:50 Hours**-

At the same time that the Mushroom agents came knocking on Bowser's door, Midbus was waking up on Yoshi's Island as the bright sun shined in his face. The interior of the Limestone Temple was lit up and after initially covering his face, Midbus lied on his back with his arms to his sides. He soon sat up, scratched himself and then started looking around the temple.

"Hmm…I should decorate in here. Get some furniture, some paintings…stuff like that…" Midbus said. He looked outside and watched a flock of birds fly from the tree line. "Then again…I don't know how long I'll be here…"

The pig groaned and then lied back down, probably intent on falling back asleep…however, the sound of humming kept him from doing so. He wasn't annoyed, however, and it was mostly because he recognized the voice as Yoshi's. The green dinosaur was walking down the dirt road to the temple, humming to himself a song that most Yoshis knew; he soon arrived at the temple, but he stopped humming as soon as he saw the empty armor lying on the ground. He raised an eyebrow and lightly kicked the armor, walking past as soon as he confirmed it wouldn't jump up and attack him. Yoshi walked up the stairs to the temple but stopped before he entered.

"Midbus? Are you awake?" Yoshi said.

"Yeah…just barely." Midbus said. He got to his feet, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and then emerged from the temple to face Yoshi. The latter looked at his friend for a moment; it always seemed that Midbus had a strange glint in his eyes.

"Oh…somehow I thought you'd be still asleep. Anyway, what is up with the, uh…"

"That armor?" Midbus walked past Yoshi and stared at the empty shell. "That attacked me last night."

"What happened to the guy inside?"

"There was no guy inside…"

"Wow…that's creepy…"

Yoshi walked back down the stairs and started inspecting the armor. Midbus followed…he still didn't trust the idea of that thing staying down. Following his curiosity, the chieftain turned and moved the armor, inspecting every inch of it. What caught his eye the most, however, was the star insignia on many pieces of the armor. Yoshi snapped off the plate on the back of one of the gloves and studied the insignia.

"Hmm…this insignia looks familiar…" Yoshi said.

"It's a star. What could be so special about it?" Midbus said.

"On the face of it, yeah it is just a star. But when you look at all of the designs behind it…" Yoshi pointed them out with his fingers. "…then it starts to look different."

"I wonder where it's from…" Midbus looked at his palm again; the burn mark was still there.

"It looks so familiar, but I can't seem to…" Yoshi started bopping his head.

"Well, don't beat yourself up over it. It's not that important, anyway…"

"But this thing attacked you. We should at least attempt to find out more about it."

"Who cares where it came from? If another one comes, I'll knock it down just the same way. End of story."

They were both silent after that. Yoshi stood up and looked at his long lost friend; Midbus looked back at him and he started to feel a strange chill inside. He walked toward Yoshi and placed his hand on the dinosaur's shoulder; Yoshi smiled at him, but then he felt a strange texture on Midbus' hand. He grabbed the pig's hand and examined his palm.

"Midbus, where did you get this weird burn from?" Yoshi said.

"Well, I did say that armor attacked me last night. I guess the burn is from when he blasted some strange energy at me and I managed to redirect it." Midbus said.

"Let me see…" Yoshi examined the burn closer. It was no normal burn. "It seems like this burn is making your blood run wild between five specific points."

"What does any of that even mean?"

"It means we're going to my house so I can treat this."

"I don't think it's that serious…"

"That's how most of the really bad injuries get worse. Besides, it'll also be a chance to make some breakfast."

"Well…alright."

Yoshi gave Midbus his hand back and then started skipping down the road again. The pig looked at his friend and folded his arms as he walked behind him; it seemed implausible that Yoshi just woke up that happy every day. Then again, maybe it was only implausible for Midbus…

-**Blue Wake Village, 09:10 Hours**-

When the duo reached the village, Yoshi led Midbus to his home; while the former easily entered, Midbus had to duck slightly to get through the entrance. As soon as he entered, the pig was instantly impressed by the décor; there were lots of exotic objects that harkened back to the days of Yoshian tribes, from large masks to feathered headdresses. As Yoshi started looking around his shelves for something, Midbus simply stood just in front of the door.

"You could sit down, you know." Yoshi said, turning to Midbus.

"I don't want to break anything…" Midbus said, rubbing his belly.

"Ha, ha! Then just sit on the floor!"

Midbus rubbed the back of his head and moved somewhat nearer to the center of the room, where he planted himself on the floor. Yoshi continued rummaging around for another few seconds, until…

"There we go; bandages…and my special salve." Yoshi said.

"You really don't have to…" Midbus said.

"I hope you know by now that I'll hear none of that. Now, give me your hand."

Midbus held his hand out and Yoshi examined it once more; he nodded and ripped off a large portion of the bandage, afterward gently soaking it in the salve. He then placed the bandage on Midbus' hand and there was immediate feedback when Midbus growled and clenched his fangs. He let out a deep exhale and watched as Yoshi started slowly wrapping the bandage around his hand. However, as he started to do this, the sharp pain that Midbus was experiencing started to exponentially worsen, until finally…

"Ow, ow, ow! Okay, stop, stop, stop, stop! STOP!" Midbus said. Yoshi immediately removed the bandage, but the pain still persisted.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I should've listened to you earlier!" Yoshi said, as he watched Midbus writhe in pain.

"It's alright…it's not your fault…OW!"

Eventually, the pain in Midbus' hand got so unbearable that he let out a very loud roar of pain; afterward, he hunched over and gripped his wrist as the pain reached a climax. Also at this point, green lightning started arcing across the arm attached to his aching hand. Midbus growled and then lurched up, looking at the ceiling, his eyes having turned completely green. Everything then went completely silent for the pig; it was as though someone had covered his eyes with a thin green sheet of paper and he watched Yoshi's mouth move but he couldn't hear the words. Instead, he heard another voice…a deep demonic voice…

"_Midbus…I sense your energy rising…it seems you are recovering…come find me…so we can be together again. Hurry…I am not the only one who has noticed…they are looking for you…" _

The pig hunched forward, the pain in his hand having finally subsided. Yoshi immediately stood and started shaking his friend.

"Midbus! Midbus! Come on! Midbus!" Yoshi said. After a few seconds of this, Midbus shook his head and finally managed to rouse himself.

"Ugh…Yo…shi…?" Midbus said.

"Oh, goodness!" Yoshi said, falling backward. "I thought you were gone…"

"Yoshi…" Midbus gulped slightly, as he realized what he was about to say. "…you know about…the Dark Star incident, right?"

"Umm…yeah, that was, like, kingdom-wide news. I don't know everything, but I do know some things."

"How much do you know?"

"That some guys tried to use the Dark Star to take over the world and Bowser ended up unknowingly cooperating with Mario and Luigi in order to stop them."

"…that's all?"

"Yeah, why?"

"…no reason. In any case, do you think that the star could have been completely destroyed?"

"I wouldn't know. In fact, I don't know much about the Dark Star; not many Yoshis do. That's Mushroom lore."

"Oh…"

"You wouldn't think about…going after that thing, would you?"

"No, no, of course not…why would I want to do that…?"

They were both silent after that. Midbus was both relieved and surprised that Yoshi didn't know that one of those "guys" was in fact him…and the other was his Master, Fawful. The pig couldn't really explain it, but he had a strong feeling that the Dark Star was somehow contacting him. He had been around the Star before, so he knew what its unique aura felt like. But how could it possibly be contacting him? It was destroyed when it copied Bowser and the Koopa King battled it…wasn't it?

"Well…considering that I failed to treat your wound, I guess I could make us some breakfast?" Yoshi said.

"Sounds good…" Midbus said, as he rubbed the back of his head.

And with that, Yoshi got to his feet, looked at Midbus, and then turned into his kitchen, where he started making something for the both of them to feast on…

-**Blue Wake Village, 10:05 Hours**-

After eating breakfast, which consisted of a surprisingly scrumptious meal of sundried fruits and large blueberry bagels, Midbus took to the village. He walked around, watching small Yoshis play and their parents watch them from afar; at one point, a running youngling bumped into Midbus. Instead of lashing out in a rage like the child expected him to do, Midbus simply gently directed the child to his side, where the youngling ran off once again. The pig watched him go and then continued on his way, though he didn't have too much in the way of a destination in mind. He eventually ended up on top of a hill just outside of the village; there was a large tree that curled in on itself before propping up and there were a variety of fruits growing on the tree. The view from the hill overlooked the village. The pig sat down and lied against the tree.

"Hagh…this island is pretty…" Midbus said. "…I don't do a very good job of distracting myself from things that are bothering me…"

He sat, thinking. The words from that voice in his head were still ringing strong…but if it was the Dark Star talking to him…

"…How could I possibly know where to start looking? I mean, I told Yoshi I wouldn't go after it, but…maybe it's connected to that armor that attacked me last night…" Midbus said.

Midbus narrowed his eyes and then stood up, resolute in his decision: he wanted answers. He had no memories of being born in the Mushroom Kingdom, but these flashes of what seemed to be memory were bothering him on an extremely deep level. He looked back at the village and then wandered into the deep Forest of Illusion, where he hoped to find a warp pipe that would help him in starting his journey…

_**End Chapter V, next chapter: Falling Stars**_


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